I love the look of these horn bowls too. I don’t own anything made of horn and don’t know anything about horn harvesting. I don’t have any problem with buying products that use animal parts, my only caveat is that the animal is used for food (e.g. leather or cowhide products) or that the animal wasn’t harmed in any way in obtaining the materials (such as naturally shed antlers).
I’m not making a political statement, just sharing my personal preferences. I’d definitely be interested in any reader recs for faux horn products.

grace, i use horn a tiny bit in my jewelry and from what the supplier tells me, the horns are shed naturally, if that makes it any better. i haven’t seen any faux horn that doesn’t just look like plastic…

These are beautiful. Very distinct looking. Bold.

water buffalo is really quite a common domestic animal in south east asia. It was primarily a working animal to plough paddy fields previously. Some people also eat the meat. so, as a personal preference, it might not be much an ethical issue.

In Vietnam the wealthy farmer has cows for the meat, and the poor one has buffalos…once the buffalo is too old to work, he is eaten, and the horns are sold for decoration or jewelry. It is a natural, ecological material, the water buffalo is not an endangered wild animal, and the crafting of the horns gives money to people who generally need it. Plus, plastic is oil consuming and requires a polluting industrial process.

I think I would rather have natural horn bowls, as far as ethic is concerned. Plus, they’re gorgeous (as everything that shown on this blog).

Lucie

PS Forgive my English, I’m French ^

Hi, Great Blog on design.
I agree with all the others the horn bowls are beautiful, ecologically sound and long wearing. Long before there was petro-chemical technology ancient man made horn bowls and other utensils from *natural* sources since he couldn’t afford to let anything go to waste. Check the data & I’m sure you will find that the *price* of making horn bowls is a great deal *cheaper* than making them out of any other known material. Leaving a lighter footprint on the land & selling surplus to western nations helps native peoples aquire hard cash to pay for good & services they can’t normally get otherwise like health and dental care. Speaking of Viet Nam have you noticed the sheer number of people in Asia & Europe with bad teeth? Misshapen by goiters? Crippled and blinded by lack of just dietary diversity and vitamins? The price of these bowls is outrageous compared to what they are originally sold for at point of maufacture but most of us can’t travel to India or Southeast Asia to pick up a few. A market is opened and truely we are the richer for it.
Again Great Site Enjoyed It Very Much. ; ] _^..^_ {happywatchcat}

Not faux horn per se, but my Roost Home catalog shows some beautiful “onyx & jasper” glass bowls and vases. They have the similar color and striation patterns of the horn bowls.

http://www.roostco.com

We all do the best we can with the choices we are given. Some people would put the poor farmer ahead of the environment. Some would put the environment ahead of the poor farmer. Some would put the water buffalo ahead of either.

I believe that in today’s world it is arrogant to tell someone that a certain cause/concern is more important than another.

For me, the poor farmer, the environment, and the water buffalo are all important. I suspect that’s also the case with Design Sponge.

But I wouldn’t buy a bowl made with these horns. There are sadly many bad ways for impovrished people in poor countries to make money, and just because it’s a way to make money doesn’t mean it’s okay. The bowls are pretty, but the way water buffalo are treated is not. Buying the horns, even if the animal is actually killed for meat, doesn’t let you escape from that ethical dilemma.

I haven’t seen any faux horn bowls, but I’ll keep my eyes open for them.

Cellulosic plastics have very similar qualities to horn, but I don’t know of many products that use them.

Cellulosic Plastics
The family of cellulosics includes cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose propionate, and ethyl cellulose. There are other cellulosics, but these are the most widely used. Cellulosics are characterized by good strength, toughness, and transparency and high surface gloss. The main feature of cellulosics is their excellent moldability, which results in brilliant, high-gloss finish. Celllulosic compounds are available for extrusion, injection molding, blow molding, and rotational molding, Cellulosics also are widely used in the form of film and sheet.

CA Cellulose acetate, which is the lowest-cost cellulosic material, has good toughness and rigidity. This easily molded material is available in a variety of grades, ranging from “soft” to “hard”.

CAB Cellulose acetate butyrate, although a little more expensive than the straight acetate, is somewhat tougher, with a hornlike quality, and has lower moisture absorption. It has relatively good weatherability and excellent transparency.

Z Gallerie carries a multitude of faux horn products at a reasonable price. Their bowls are more organic in shape, they have freestanding horns, and even a horn handled magnifying glass. Some of them can pass as real, some, not so much.